Barrington Levy

Barrington Levy is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall artist known for his distinctive vocal delivery and significant influence on the genre. After quickly establishing himself as a popular performer in Jamaican dancehalls, Barrington Levy solidified his position in the reggae landscape with a series of hit singles and critically acclaimed albums. He released ‘My Black Girl’ with the band Mighty Multitude in 1977, before embarking on a solo career the following year with ‘A Long Time Since We Don’t Have No Love.’ Early collaborations with record producers Hyman Wright and Henry ‘Junjo’ Lawes led to a string of successes, including ‘Ah Yah We Deh,’ ‘Looking My Love,’ ‘Englishman,’ ‘Skylarking,’ ‘Wedding Ring Aside,’ and ‘Collie Weed.’ His debut album, ‘Bounty Hunter,’ was released in 1979, followed by the critically acclaimed ‘Englishman’ the same year. Levy also made notable appearances at Reggae Sunsplash in both 1980 and 1981.

The late 1990s saw Levy’s continued expansion into new markets, notably with his 1998 album ‘Living Dangerously,’ which featured high-profile collaborations with artists such as Bounty Killer and Snoop Dogg. He continued to be a sought-after collaborator, appearing on the Long Beach Dub All Stars album ‘Right Back’ (1999), the Rascalz track ‘Top of the World’ (1999), and Aphrodite’s album ‘Aftershock’ (2000). A new version of ‘Here I Come’ with Talisman P reached the UK charts in 2001. Levy also contributed to the Handsome Boy Modeling School album ‘White People’ (2004) and collaborated with Slightly Stoopid on ‘Closer to the Sun’ (2005).

His significant influence was recognized in 2023 when Rolling Stone ranked him at number 119 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time. The same year, he delivered a memorable performance at the prestigious Glastonbury Festival.